Role of youth associations in infrastructural development in Khana local government area of the Niger delta, Nigeria

Abstract

The study investigated the Role of Youth Associations in Infrastructural Development in Khana Local Government Area of the Niger Delta, Nigeria. With the aid of a structured and validated questionnaire, data were obtained from a random sample size of 80 respondents selected from 20 youth associations randomly selected from the 32 registered youth associations in the study area. Data analysis was by the use of frequency, percentage and mean scores. Results showed that majority of the respondents are males (62.5%); falls within the age of 26 and 30 years; 50.0% of them are married; while 38.8% are civil servants. The infrastructural development activities youth associations participate in the study area include: road maintenance (mean = 2.92), construction and maintenance of market square (mean = 2.59), building/mounting of sign posts (mean = 3.21), and construction of drainages (mean = 2.70). The study also revealed that youth associations play active roles in project planning (mean = 2.81), project implementation (2.91), deciding and selecting appropriate projects (mean = 3.21), mobilize community members for project support (mean = 3.27), organize project fund raising forum (mean = 3.80), provide security at community project sites (mean = 3.36), among others. It was recommended that youth associations should liaise with donor agencies and non-governmental organizations in project planning and implementation to reduce the burdens of embarking on some of these projects alone. Youth associations should be encouraged to cooperate with donor agencies and play other critical roles other than finance, such as providing labour and security at project sites.

Keywords: Youth Associations, Infrastructural Facilities.